Why We Need Unified Diversity

Unified Diversity, seems a contradictory term, doesn’t it?

It’s a topic I believe we pay too little attention to in the disability community – our solitary with other diverse populations, as well as with one another. As someone who has always been and will always be a “minority,” I feel such an affinity with others who are lumped in this ever-growing category.

I, as a white, heterosexual woman, feel a particular kinship to the GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning) community. First and foremost because so many treasured friends of mine belong to this diverse and dynamic group.

But my affinity runs deeper than friendship…

It’s about owning, claiming, and celebrating a natural part of your being that is still often viewed by the majority as unnatural and even worse, “not right.” While I can’t try to proclaim that I understand the struggles that still exist today for people who are “coming out,” I do certainly understand how it feels to encounter  the fear of difference. I believe as a society we have come a long way in the last few decades in that regard. However, as evidenced by the terrible events in Orlando a few days ago, we have so much further to go.

It can feel so isolating at times to learn to take pride in the very thing that brings so much adversity in your life, whether it be using a wheelchair, loving someone of the same sex, or being a different race. It’s so much more than Diversity Pride. It’s really about celebrating who you are in the face of harsh judgments and bullying fear.

That’s what I have learned from my friends who land on the diversity rainbow. We all struggle to be celebrated in a world that may not accept us. Let’s begin by accepting one another within that realm of difference and learning from one another to accept ALL differences.

Let’s all “come out” as a way of teaching the world that diversity expands and strengthens the global good. This is why we need Unified Diversity and not categories of differences. Let’s not only embrace one another’s struggles, but learn from them as a means of easing our own personal journeys.

One last morsel of thought on this. As I was listening to the news reports on the aftermath of the Orlando shooting, I was struck by how cohesive the GLBTQ community is and how readily they accept one another into the community. This shone through in an interview of a man who lost the friend who gave him a home after the man’s father threw him out.

I  was sadly reminded of how the disability community still sometimes struggles with being identified with one another. I continue to hear comments like “Well, I’m not like them.” Oh, yes you are. And until you claim it, thinking that you’re not will continue to weaken you.  More on that in another post…